I found out on Thursday that I was going to be induced the next day. I was so nervous. I was told to call the hospital at 5 am to find out what time I was supposed to check in. I was so paranoid about not waking up that I hardly got any sleep. The hospital told me to check in at 7. At 6:40 we dropped a very groggy Molly and Gabe off at a friends house and then headed for the hospital. By 9:30 I was checked in, hooked up to everything and my nurse was starting the
pitocin. After a couple hours of that I was ready for an epidural. However the nurse didn't agree so she said she could give my some pain medication through my iv. That was a nightmare. I felt like I was going to die. After the medication wore off my water broke and the nurse said that I was
dilated to a 4 so I could have an epidural. The anesthesiologist came and worked his magic at 12:30. By 1:15 I was fully
dilated. I pushed through 2 contractions and our little 5lb 15oz boy was welcomed into the world at 1:24. About an hour later we gave him a name. Lincoln Edward.
(I had wanted to name Gabe, Lincoln. Lincoln had always been a front runner, but there was one other name that I couldn't get out of my head...) Looking back I'm still not sure how I feel about being induced. Thankfully Lincoln came fast. I was worried that I'd be in labor all day. I still think that my best experience all around was having Gabe. Although it was nice being able to plan ahead a little.
Right after I was brought to my recovery room a nurse came in to take our vitals. Lincoln was cold. She said that she was going to put him under a heat lamp in the nursery. She said she'd bring him back in a little while. That couldn't have been farther from the truth. A few hours later the pediatrician came in and said that Lincoln had stopped breathing a few times. He told me not to worry he wanted to take a few x-rays and monitor Lincoln in the
NICU.
ok. The x-rays came back perfect and his breathing wasn't labored. The doctor wanted to keep Lincoln in the
NICU to make sure that Lincoln's little body could keep his temperature where it needed to be. After day of holding a normal body temp I thought he would be released. But Lincoln was a VERY sleepy baby in the hospital and wasn't interested in eating. The doctor wanted to keep him in the
NICU to monitor how much he was eating and how long it was taking him. To make a long story not too much longer :) I was so happy when we got to leave the hospital together Sunday afternoon.
Lincoln in the NICU.
(He was hooked up to a bunch of machines it was so frustrating. Every time I picked him up some kind of alarm would sound. While the whole experience was frustrating I'm so happy that there were no serious problems.)

Welcome home!

Molly and Gabe are in love. They want to "pet" and hold him all the time. If Lincoln sequels both of them come running with pacifiers.

hanging out with dad

The hat fit! But only for a couple of days. If you're thinking about making one and you don't have little babies you should make it a bit bigger.